This invention relates to an apparatus for improving the operational performance of a machine, device or the like, and, more particularly, to an such apparatus for compensating for positioning, pointing and/or orientation errors caused by defections of structural members and components of a high performance machine or device and/or for reducing vibration inputs to such machine or device and/or for micro-positioning such machine or device so as to improve the operational performance thereof.
Typically, high performance machines, devices, components or the like, may have to perform or maneuver at relatively high speeds and/or accelerations and/or may be subjected to input disturbances. To attain such high speeds and/or accelerations, it is desirable to make these machines light weight. A by product of the weight reduction is the added structural flexibility even though relatively light weight and relatively stiff materials, such as, advanced composites and ceramics are utilized. Such machines or devices may include ultra-high speed and accuracy machine tools, positioning tables, precise pointing devices such as gun barrels, spacecrafts and rotorcrafts, robotic manipulators, cranes, quality control and measurement systems, machinery used in the electronics industry such as probes, lead bonding, laser and x-ray litiography, and so forth, and similar high performance products and computer controlled machines.
When operating at relatively high speeds and/or accelerations, the above-described machines may have structures and/or components that behave as relatively flexible. Such relatively flexible structures may adverse affect the operational performance, that is, the attainable level of operating speed and/or acceleration, and/or positioning accuracy and/or orientation accuracy and/or pointing accuracy of such machines or devices. Further, as a result of such flexibilities, such machines or devices may have vibration, stabilization and control problems which could adversely affect the performance of the machines. Further, insufficient vibration damping may also adversely affect the positioning, pointing or orientation accuracy of such machines or devices by requiring a relatively long settling time for such vibration to "settle out". Therefore, desired or required positioning, pointing or orientation (or tracking) accuracies or settling times may not be achievable, thus resulting in relatively poor operational performance.
As an example, consider the situation in which it is desired to point a gun barrel of a turret weapon system. During aggressive maneuvering and firing, the gun barrel behaves as a relatively flexible beam. Such flexibility can result in structural vibration which ultimately affects the pointing accuracy of the tip of the gun barrel. Although the turret weapon system may have a main actuator(s) for providing movements, such main actuator is not located at the tip of the gun barrel. As a result, the main actuator drives the tip of the gun barrel through the relatively flexible gun barrel, that is, the actuator is non-collocated with the tip of the gun barrel. As a result of such non-collocation and/or non-linearities (such as, stiction, friction, backlash, non-linear elasticity due to drive train, and so forth) between the tip of the gun barrel and the main actuator, it is relatively difficult, if not impossible, to achieve high pointing accuracy. Furthermore, the main actuator may also not have the required bandwidth to correct for the structural modes of vibration particularly those affecting pointing accuracy.
As another example, consider positioning and/or orientation of an end-effector of a robotic manipulator. In this situation, at relatively high operating speeds and/or accelerations, the links between the joint actuator(s) and the end-effector behaves as a flexible member. As such, in this situation, the joint actuator(s) is non-collocated with the end-efector. Similarly, in this situation, the excitation of a structural mode or modes due to the vibration thereof may seriously affect the positioning or orientation accuracy so as to adversely affect the operational performance of the robotic manipulator.
Therefore, as is to be appreciated, it is desirable to compensate for adverse effects of deflections in structural members and components due to the above-described vibration and structural flexibility of such machines, devices or components so as to improve the operational performance thereof. In an attempt to improve such operational performance, various control techniques or systems have been suggested or utilized. However, such control systems normally result in only a limited amount of improvement in the operational performance of the respective machine or device.
Further, high performance machines, devices or the like may be subjected to externally generated vibration (which may be high frequency vibration) which may adversely affect the operational performance of such machines or devices. In an attempt to reduce such vibration, vibration isolation systems have been developed which may reduce the vibration inputs to a machine or device along one direction. However, such vibration isolation systems may not adequately reduce or attenuate vibration inputs if such vibration inputs are along two or more directions. Additionally, such vibration isolation systems may have limited bandwidth.
Thus, the prior art has failed to provide an apparatus for compensating for positioning, pointing and orientation errors caused by deflections of structural members and components of high performance machines or devices and for reducing vibration inputs to a device. As such, the prior art has failed to provide an apparatus for improving the operational performance of high performance machines, devices and components.